Yesterday, Dee-Mack students participated our annual Signing Day, which means that some of our athletes have taken the opportunity to team up with their choice college to play for them as they go throughout their college career.

The students participating this year are:

Ben Ragon, Kenzie Knowles, Shane Correll, Addyson Carithers, Chuck Hathaway, Lexi Cottingham, Lucas Holly, and Ryan Kuhn

During interviews with this year’s signing students, they expressed their excitement to move forward into this new experience.

Ben Ragon is going to Monmouth for track.

• What made you choose this school?
  • “Monmouth is very flexible with their athletes. They’ll help you when you need it, like if you need extensions because you’re doing a sport. They help guide you and make sure everything’s going right. Another big thing was that every student had nothing but good things to say.
• What are you looking forward to most?
  • “Definitely contributing to the team. Being at a smaller school, we’ve had an unfortunate time bringing trophies back because of the schools with like 50 people on the team. So I’m excited to bring things back and show that sense of the school being really great at what they put their heart into.”
• What advice do you have for younger athletes?
  • “It comes down to the coach. How much they’ll be with you to help you develop and drive and push you, rather than just focusing on the whole team winning.”

Kenzie Knowles is going to Danville Area Community College for softball.

• What made you choose this school?
  • “The coaches. They reminded me of my dad coaching, and you could see that they had good intentions to help the players.”
• What are you looking forward to most?
  • “A different atmosphere. It’s going to be a new and exciting challenge away from Dee-Mack.”
• What advice do you have for younger athletes?
  • “You need to figure out what you want first instead of being told what you need to do.”

Shane Correll is going to Carl Sandburg for Baseball.

• What made you choose this school?
  • “I like the way the school is set up. I also knew the coach through some connections from the start, which was really helpful.”
• What are you looking forward to most?
  • “I’m expecting to get a little bit more experience out of it, just seeing what it’s like to play at the next level. And then I’m hoping I can go somewhere after that, but if not, it’s all good.”
• What advice do you have for younger athletes?
  • “Keep putting in the work in the weight room and on the field, but also outside of school, over the summer and working out in the winter.”

Addyson Carithers is going to Hannibal -LaGrange for softball.

• What made you choose this school?
  • “It’s a Christian school, I liked the coach, and it’s a smaller school and I don’t want to go to a big school, so I liked the sizing of it.”
• What are you looking forward to most?
  • “Just being able to play with new people, and the fun spring break trip where we play in Florida.”
• What advice do you have for younger athletes?
  • “Just do your best and work hard, simple as that.”

Chuck Hathaway is going to Carl Sandburg for Baseball.

• What made you choose this school?
  • “I thought with the new rules being put in place, you know, if you go to a junior college you can still have 4 years of eligibility at a 4 year school after junior college, so with that you can get a master’s degree if you wanted to, and it just allows you to play your sport for longer. I also though, financially, it was the right decision as well.”
• What are you looking forward to most?
  • “I think it’s just a new beginning. You’re stepping up in the world, moving out and figuring things out for yourself. It’s just kind of a new door opening.”
• What advice do you have for younger athletes?
  • “Don’t get too stressed out about it. Do as much as you can early, the earlier the better. Because if you wait too long you get rushed and stuff might not happen. So as early as you can just get your name out and talk to colleges, and just work as hard as you can.”

Lexi Cottingham is going to Millikin for softball.

• What made you choose this school?
  • “The coaches. The coaches wanted me to visit, so I did and I thought it was really good.”
• What are you looking forward to most?
  • “It’s just something that I’ve dreamed about since I was little, so just finally getting a chance to do this and get to be at the next level is something I’m looking forward to.”
• What advice do you have for younger athletes?
  • “It’s not all easy, but if you want to do it, there’s definitely a place for you.”

Lucas Holly is going to Illinois Central for baseball.

• What made you choose this school?
  • “I’ve always grown up going to games there, and it’s a program that’s very high-thought-of locally. I know people that have gone and played there and have had great experiences.”
• What are you looking forward to most?
  • “Just accomplishing a goal and a dream that I’ve had since I started playing baseball, and just taking that next step forward.”
• What advice do you have for younger athletes?
  • “It’s not about the results. If you come in everyday with a good attitude, you can make things work.”

Ryan Kuhn is going to Heartland Community College for track and cross-country.

• What made you choose this school?
  • “Will [Scroggs] was the one that convinced me to go, and I liked that it was a smaller school as well. It’s a very competitive D2 school, and you get to run against ISU, so just some bigger D2 schools or smaller D1 schools. So the competition is very good from what I’ve heard.”
• What are you looking forward to most?
  • “I’m just excited to run in college. That’s always been a dream of mine, to run on a scholarship, and I’m on a partial scholarship for Heartland, so I’m just excited to go out there and run.”
• What advice do you have for younger athletes?
  • “Just know what’s right for you and make that decision of what you think is best.”

All in all, our students have shown immense excitement to move forward in their sport and take this opportunity to sign with their choice college. For all the athletes, it is worth considering using Signing Day in senior year to take this same opportunity. Take the advice of these seniors when considering, and remember that you can’t get to that point without hard work and dedication.